This invention relates to openers for screw top containers, and more particularly to an improved bottle cap remover.
In my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,622 I have shown and described a form of opener for screw top containers characterized by a base which is adapted to be secured to a vertical wall surface. Pivotally attached to the base is an arm having at its free end a jaw including gripping means, such as a serrated edge for engaging a screw type bottle cap, and holding it against rotation while resting in a notch in the base while appropriate twisting force is applied to the container.
The present invention is an improvement on the prior structure. The prior structure was conveniently formed of a moldable plastic, and in order to accommodate a variety of sizes of bottle caps employed a jaw member having an integral curved and serrated inner face. The present structure enables the use of straight metallic serrated members thus improving the ease of construction and the durability of the jaw member. Also, the present device provides for concealment ofthe serrated jaw surface when the device is not in use, thus eliminating a possible source of injury.
To provide the advantages above described and others as will later appear, the structure has been modified to provide for a plurality of positions of the pivot point for the arm so that adjustment for a variety of sizes of bottle caps can be accommodated and a terminal or storage position with the serrated edge of the jaw concealed. Straight serrated jaw inserts may be provided instead of the more complicated contoured serrated surface. These devices are desirably formed from an injection moldable plastic material, and an inserted serrated blade or pair of blades of metal is clearly more durable than a molded serrated jaw surface integral with the jaw member.